Blog - Page 103 of 215

Quartered kumquats (say that 10 times fast)

Recipe: Andrew’s Kumquat Marmalade

The kumquat tree was planted for the husband. Yours truly doesn't care for them. To be honest, the husband uses them as an appetite suppressant (the sourness makes one not want to eat anything afterward; it has the same effect as brushing one's teeth). So, now that the kumquats are going gangbusters, the husband decided to make some marmalade for his toast. He's a bit of an experimenter, the husband. Never one to follow a recipe to the letter. So…

Post author:Christy
Post published:May 6, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:3 Comments

Radish seeds are medium sized, so you won't need a very small screen.

Harvesting Radish Seeds

Locally adapted seed is an important ally in the garden. Seeds you save and plant again become more adapted to your climate, water conditions, soil, etc. Each time you save seed and then grow it out properly, that seed improves. Here are tips for harvesting radish seeds. Last winter we ran out of Purple Plum radish seed, so when we spotted one of our large roots bolting to seed at the end of the season, we seized the opportunity. Technically,…

Post author:Christy
Post published:May 5, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:6 Comments

Identify the male squash flower. Step 1 for hand pollinating.

Hand Pollinating Squash

Early-season gardeners in warm-weather climates are planting zucchini, yellow crookneck and winter squashes already. Flowers open, bees and other pollinators arrive, and soon there will be an abundance of squashes for eating and sharing. But with pollinator populations on the decline, we leave nothing to chance here at Gardenerd HQ. We hand pollinate. Perhaps you've heard our Tip of the Week Podcast on hand pollinating before. Now we're providing a visual companion. Here's an easy guide to hand pollinating your…

Post author:Christy
Post published:April 29, 2015
Post category:Blog Sage Advice
Post comments:2 Comments

Harvesting basil is easy if you know where to look.

Harvesting Basil

Every once in a while it's time to return to basics here at Gardenerd. Our blog is filled with helpful hints for gardening, but we recently discovered that the basics for harvesting basil were not among those hints. So here they are. Basil is a fragrant staple of the spring and summer garden. There are dozens of varieties to grow, but they all behave the same (at least all the annual varieties do). Basil is a member of the mint…

Post author:Christy
Post published:April 28, 2015
Post category:Blog Sage Advice
Post comments:3 Comments

Tickle Your Tomatoes

To avoid that long, leggy look in your tomato seedlings, try tickling young tomato plants.

Post author:Christy
Post published:April 24, 2015
Post category:Blog
Post comments:0 Comments

Blackberries

Earth Day Wordless Wednesday: Spring’s Abundance

We're preparing for the Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase this week, so enjoy this Wordless Wednesday for Earth Day: photos of spring's abundance in our Test Garden and stop by on Westminster this Saturday if you're in Los Angeles. Happy Earth Day, everyone!

Post author:Christy
Post published:April 22, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:0 Comments

The original carrot plush toy

Where’s Gardenerd?

And now for something completely different... At least a year ago my PR assistant, Mel, gave me a carrot plush toy. It's the cutest thing ever. It also spawned an idea we couldn't pass up. What if we sent this plush toy around the world so people could photograph it in their gardens? What if gardenerds all over the planet could then post their photos to Twitter or Instagram for all of us to share? But we couldn't send him...Gardenerd...out…

Post author:Christy
Post published:April 21, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On Where’s Gardenerd?
Post comments:18 Comments

Interplanting

Interplanting is a great way to use up open space while protecting the soil from exposure to the baking sun.

Post author:Christy
Post published:April 17, 2015
Post category:Blog
Post comments:0 Comments

Under the dome of the Education Center

Field Trip: Huntington’s New Education & Visitor Center

The Huntington Library and Gardens unveiled its new Education and Visitor Center on April 4th. Sadly we couldn't attend that day, but we finally made a pilgrimage to see the site this past weekend to take it all in. First impressions: it's going to be amazing when everything grows in. In the meantime, the sheer scale of the project is impressive right now. The old Huntington entrance, with its long walk through an established tree canopy, is gone. In its…

Post author:Christy
Post published:April 15, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:2 Comments

Interplanting Corn

You've probably heard of the Three Sisters Garden, where you plant corn, beans, and squash together for a symbiotic relationship that takes up less space for all three crops. But interplanting can work with other crops too. This year, we decided to experiment with interplanting corn in with a sweet potato bed that won't give up the ghost. Each year, despite pulling what we think is all the sweet potatoes, the crop keeps coming back, rendering a 4x4 bed unavailable…

Post author:Christy
Post published:April 14, 2015
Post category:Blog What's Growin' On
Post comments:21 Comments